Posted tagged ‘job’

I’m going to be taking a short break from writing here for a few weeks, as I have just received a new job and need to move across the state.

I’ve spent the last 4 years working as the technical services head at the Berkshire Athenaeum, which has been an incredible experience, especially for someone fresh out of school like me. Besides getting to work on all the standard cataloging challenges, I got to toy with an enormous local history and genealogy collection, a collection dedicated to the work of Herman Melville, the library of Oliver Wendel Holmes, lead a number of workshops for patrons, host a number of sing-along to Journey nights (Rock Band) and of course drive a dump truck across Connecticut.

I can only imagine what new challenges await me when I get to the Worcester (sorry Wistah) Public Library in a few weeks. I can’t wait!

This week marks the second Library Day In the Life Project, causing many to document their daily work activities in an effort to teach people what the job entails (hint: it’s not about reading books). The wiki is compiling a list of participants. Check it out for some decent reading.

I have not participated yet, partly due to time constraints but mostly due to this being a fairly dull week to date. But here’s an attempt to reconstruct yesterday anyway:

5:45 a.m.: woke up before alarm (again)

6:30 a.m.: cereal and lots of coffee while catching up on Daily Show/Colbert Report from last night

8:00 a.m.: Going in early to work on computer updates before we open.

9:00 a.m.: took an hour to install 2 windows updates, time to move on to cataloging

9:05 a.m.-noon: Doing original cataloging on local travel brochures from 70’s.

noon-1 p.m.: Cataloging new order of business titles

1 p.m.: run home for lunch and to download the All Fronts map pack for Gears of War 2

2 p.m.: Back to work and those business books

3-4 p.m.: finishing day by cataloging dvd’s, put holds in on 3 of them for myself

4 p.m.: glad that coming in early means I can leave early too

5-6 p.m.: Volunteer from library came over to practice at Rock Band for our game day on Thursday.

This last week the latest round of fighting over the value of an MLS degree started on the Autocat mailing list. And it didn’t take very long to turn ugly, so just to further the brawl I figured I’d throw in my own two cents.

An MLS is important if you want to progress in the field, for the sole reason that most of the good jobs require one. However, I’m not convinced that a formal library science education will teach you anything that you couldn’t pick up through experience, and in many cases what you learn in school can conflict with the day to day work you do on the job. Oh and of course those good jobs may not actually earn you enough money to make up for the cost of school in both time and money.

Now I loved my time in school, and I’m glad I chose to get the degree, but the part time job I worked probably taught me more that I’ve since applied to my work than my education did.